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Aligoté
Aligoté is a white grape that produces dry white wines and is the third-most popular variety grown in the Burgundy region of France, after Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Along with blackcurrant liqueur, Aligoté wine is the traditionally the key ingredient of the Kir cocktail.
Also known as Blanc de Troyes, Vert blanc, Chaudenet gris and Plant gris, the Aligoté grape is understood to be a cross between Pinot noir and Gouais blanc. It was first recorded in burgundy in the 18th century and today remains almost exclusively planted there, although its tolerance to cooler climates has seen it cultivated in eastern Europe as well.
As Aligoté is less profitable than Chardonnay, it is very much a distant second in terms of white grape cultivation in Burgundy. The most notable examples of varietal wines come from the Bourgogne-Aligoté and Bouzeron-Aligoté AOCs, and it can also be found in the blend of the Burgundian sparkling wine, Crémant de Bourgogne.
Notable regions
The grape is at its best in the varietal wines of the regional Bourgogne Aligoté appellation, and particularly in Bouzeron in the northern Côte Chalonnaise. It can be found along the fringes of the Côte-d'Or, around the city of Die to the east of the Rhone Valley and in the commune of Pierrevert in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Aligoté is also cultivated in Switzerland, and across Eastern Europe in Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria where the amount of cultivation actually far exceeds that of its native France.
Characteristics
Aligoté produces bone dry white wines with light body and generally very high acidity.
The dominant flavours and aromas tend to contain floral and herbal notes, with fruit characteristics of peach and apple, occasionally joined by smoke.